Apparatus for scraping and brushing the hulls of floating ships



A. F. BROWNE. APPARATUS FOR SCRAPING AND BRUSHING THE HULLS 0F FLOATING SHIPS. APPLICATION FILED,SEPT.28. 1-920.

Patented Feb. 15,1921.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET l1. 1 Q

/ Wilaw A. F. BROWNE APPARATUS FOR SCRAPING AND BRUSHING THE HULLS 0F FLOATING SHIPS. APPLlCATlON FlL-ED SEPT-28, 1920.

1,368,692. I Patented Feb. 15,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A. F. BROWNE.

APPARATUS FOR SCRAPING AND BRUSHING THE HULLS 0F FLOATING SHIPS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28. 1920.

1,368,692. Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- .2 g. .7

ATTY

Ulii'FED STATE ARTHUR FREDERICK BRowNn, or DARLING rerun, NEAR SYDl IEY, NEW scorn wALEs, AnsrRaLie. l u

APPARATUS FOR SGRAPING AND Bauer-sine Tf-IE-Ti-IULLS on FLOATIN 'SH PS.

incense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Application filed September as, 1'82G.- Serial nofeiaeeo.

To all whom "it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR Fnnonnloii Bnowrtn, subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 1&3 Darling Point road, Darling Point, near Sydney, New South ii ales, Australia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Scraping and Brushing the Hulls of Floating Ships, of which the following is: a specification.

This invention consists in an apparatus installed on a floating stage or other floating support for scraping and brushing the submerged portion of the hulls of floating ships. It has for its object to facilitate the removal of marine growths from the hulls of ships afloat and the application of paint thereto thereby to obviate the delay and cost which are involved in the placing of ships in dock for the cleaning and painting of their hulls below the water line.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of same;

Fig. 3 is a detail of the construction of the buffer heads of the fender beams by which the floating stage is maintained at the desired working distance from the hull of the vessel tobe operated on;

Fig. 4 is an. elevational view of winch mechanism by which lateral motion and frontal, pressure isapplied to the scraping and brushing heads;'

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view with por-f tions insection' showing certain detail of a brush head; A I

Fig. -6 is a perspective view showing a combined scraper and brusher head; Fig. 7 isa fragmentary sectional elevation showing the apparatus adapted for operating with two brush heads one of which performs a. cleaning operation and the other eflects painting of the cleaned surface;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view showing portion of modified winch mechanism by which lateral motion and frontal pressure is applied to two brush heads Working simultaneously. 3 A I The apparatus is installed-on abarge or other floating structure 21., The barge is provided with two transversely disposed fender through slide cleats 23 and to be checked therein by drop keys 24 or otherwise. The ends of these fender beams are armed with beams 22 which are adapted. to run rollerbufi'ers 25 which are slidably mounted with spring abutments 96 {in the end of the fender beams 22., The roller buffers 25 are adapted to bear against the hull 26 of, the

ship to be operated on. They serve the pur-' pose of holding' the barge 21 at a predeter mined distance from the hull 26. The barge is kept'np to its position with the buffers 25 contacting with the hull 26, by one or more lateral propellers 27 or equivalent device whichmay be driven by gearing 28 from a way-shaft 29, 30 being dog couplings which are controlled through linkage 3l3233 by hand levers 34: and 35 A main shaft 36 is driven by a prime mover (not shown) as for instance, a steam engine or a gas engine. Thisshaft may be fitted with coupling means to drive a shaft (not shown) passing through a gland in the stern of the barge 21 to carrythe propeller 98 by means of which the barge 21 may be navigated from place to place in a harbor in which the machine is operated. I The fore-and-aft propeller shaft and propeller form no part of the invention. The shaft .36 is geared by a chain belt 37 to a counter-shaft 38 having its hearings in the rigger framingQBQ. The

shaft 29 is driven from the shaft 38 by means of a' chain belt iO. The sleeve coupling 4L1 on the shaft 38 when engaged with its'counterpart 97 gears the shaft 38 to the cam shaft 42 by a chain belt d3. The camshaft 42 is also carried in hearings in the frame 39 and it is armedwith two cams or eccentrics,

Lek-45 oppositely disposed.v LG- 47 v are shafts preferably arranged in alinern ent and each provided with a hand crank handle 48 on the outer side of the framing 39'; spring pawlsfit) are carried on the framing 39 and adapted to engage the deten't wheel 50-51 on the shafts lib-a7 respectively. These said shafts each carry a barrel .52. To these barrels the ends of sweep chains or lines 53--54 are secured. Said chains or lines. pass around the cams or eccentrics la- 455 which are shrouded on either side 'as shown at 153 to insure that the chains or lines 53 54: which run over them will not slip off laterally. The chains or lines 53-54 are respectively led through fair lead blocks SSS-57, thence over other fair lead blocks 58-59, the latter blocks being hung on the out-board ends of the fender beams 22 just rearward of the buffer heads 25. The outer ends of the chains or lines Sit-54; which have 7 been so reeved through the fair lead blocks V the cross pin of which is supported in foot lugs 6 L fixed to the gunwale portion ofthe barge. The brushing or scraping heads are carried on the lower end of the sweep rod 61.'v The sweep rod61'is preferably made in sections connected'together by screw sockets so that any requiredlength may be obtained.

' flexible feed pipe 85. When the upper sys- Below the wrist where the chains 53-5etare connected to it at 60, yoke arms 65 carry a yoke bolt 66 which passes through the rec V brushes are constructed with hair or fiber bristles or wool tufts and not with wire or tangular frame 67 in which the brush or scraper members 68 are mounted on rock bolts 69. As the frame 67' is supported centrally it is balanced and self adjusting "and the brushes 68 are individually balanced and self adjusting on their rock .pins 69. Consequently when the brush frame is forced up toward the hull of a ship (see Fig. Qlthe frames as a wholeand the brushes contained within it adapt themselves to the surface of the hull and the brush faces set squarely 30 y againstit. A preferred method of constructing the crush head is shown in Fig. 6.. Thereithe brush members consist of a wooden baclt'ZO.

armed with the spring. wire teeth or heavy cane spines 71 and one side of the frarnei'Qv (which corresponds w th the frame (37 shown in 5) carries hung upon it a? blade of spring steel 78. This blade is hung by means of hinges 74 which permit it to flap freely in one direction but not in the other direction; it is slitted at intervals as shown at 7 5 to form its edge into a large number of independent scraper teeth, the ends ofwhich are outwardly bent'as shown at 76 to augment the scraping and detaching action of the teeth 71 when the instrument is moved, toand fro laterally of its length over a surface such as the befouled skin of ships hull. The split blade 73 may be made 61 shown in previous figures;- both sweep rods have lateral movement in in. two sections one for each brush, and these sections hingedly fixed tothe sides of the brush backs instead of to the sides of the frame 72; thereby the bladesare better lo-- (bated for acting on the foul skin of the ship asthey will be self-adjusting with the brushes in relationto the curved parts of the hull. i

Two brush fittings may be used operatingsimultaneously on nearby areas of thehull skin as shown in Fig. ,The brush frames may be. of the same type, and the mounting of the sweeprods 61 and 81 substantially the same as the moiuiting of the sweep rod As; however.

separate'shafts 95 which may be unison, the clamp sleeve 82 carrying the rod 81 may be connected to the fore side of the clamp sleeve 62 by a bolt 83 fixed to allow a little freedom between the two sleeves so that the sweep rods 81 and 61 may be separately self-adjusting for angular position. The lower brush head may be the same as shown in Fig. 5 and the upper brush head may be of similar type, but as shown in Fig. Tthe brushes in the upper head are provided with l'iollow'backs from whiclrpaint may percolate' :through {perforations therethrough among the brush bristles or tufts; paint is supplied to the hollow brush backs from a reservoir. of paint on the floating stage by a tem of brushes 86 is required to be used for applying paint to the hull of the vessel the the ships hull is befoulejd with heavy growths positive scraping as by means of an instrument such as shown in Fig. 6 will be. necessary to clean it, but in other case rough brushingwith a coarse fiber brush will sufiice to remove the growths attached to'the hull. When two systems of brushes as shown in Figf T are used, the lower brushes 87 are first brought" into action'and after the hull has been cleaned thereby for a given range below water levelthe upper system of. brushes is fixed and thereafter cleaning by means of 'the lower brushes .8? and painting the clean surfaces by means of the upper brushes 86 may be carried on'until the whole surface of the hull within reach of the brushes has'been dealt with.

It will "be understood that expert manipulation of the apparatus involving appropriatjlcngth adjustment of thesweep rods'Gl and 81 appropriate selection of brushes, and appropriate adjustment of the fender lengths will be'refiuired, having regard to the shape ofthe'hull being operated on and its surface condition. The movements of the upper sweep rod 81 are controlled by a separate set ofchains or lines 90-9l which like the chains or lines 53 54 are brought over cams or eccentrics 92-93 fixed on the shaft d2; with theirfends carried on length. adjusting drums 94which are mounted on arranged parallel with the shafts 46%7.

The method of Operation is as follows 'Referring to Figs. 1 to '6: The sweep rod 61 is. set for length so thatthe brush .fiXGCl on the wrist on the lower part of it will locate against the hull 26 of a vessel at the depth position at which the operation is .required to. be performed. The chains orlines 53-54; are now tautenedup by turning the hand cranks 48and when they-are taut the shafts "46-47 are locked by meansof the pawlsd). The motor being set in motion to turn the shaft 36, motion is communicated therefrom by the chain belt 37 to the shaft 38,

beams 22 have been setout to standoff the barge 21 at therequired distancefrom the hull 26. By means of the hand levers aid-35 the dog couplings 30 are engaged, thereby. setting in motion I the propellers 27 which act to keep the barge 21 forced up laterally toward the hull 26, the fenders 22 standing.

the barge off the required clearance distance. Motion from the shaft 38 is transmitted to the shaft 42 when the clutch 41 is engaged of the hand lever 99. By rotapull and relax said/chains alternately, with the result that the sweep rod 61 with the brush head on the lower end of it in contact with the hull 26 is caused to sweep pendularly about its mounting 63, therebyelfectingbrushing of the hull 26. The angular dlSPOSliJlOIl of the sweep rod 61 and the di rection of the leads 535 to it are such that the tension on the chains or lines operates not merely to apply oscillating motion to the sweep rod 61, but also tends to pull the lower end of said rod upward and thereby causes the brushes to bear inwardly against the hull 26. When the brush heads are constructed as shown in Fig. 6, the blades 7 6 act as scrapers when the brushes are sweeping in one direction, but these blades are idle in the reverse movements of the brushes. The blades operate effectively to detach heavy marine growths, while the brushes, according to the nature of their fibers or spines, act to clean up the hull. l/Vhen the upper zone immediately below the water level has been so cleaned up, the second brush head carried on the upper sweep rod 81 (see Fig. 7 may be fixed and adjusted similarly to the lower brush head. The operation being then carried on as before, both brush heads 86-87 are caused to work on the surface of the hull 26 so that if an appropriate paint mixture be served to the upper brush head 86 through the pipe 85, the brushes therein will apply said paint to the cleaned surfaces simultaneously with the cleaning of the lower zone of the hull 26 as the work proceeds. The forward and backward movement of the barge is effected by means of the end propeller 98. In the absence of the propeller equipment 98, the barge 21 is warped or otherwise moved longitudinally as the work progresses, so that substantially the whole area of the hull of a vessel from water line to the bilge and in g which in turn through the chain belt to 'turns the shaft 29.. Meantime, the fender some cases below-'the bilge, according to the section of thehulhmay be readily eleaned'.a.

'What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is. y 1. "Apparatus "carried "on a for brushing the-submerged'skin of a ships hull, characterized in that a brush is held on the lower-end of an angularly disposed sweeparm which is ELClJElStRlDlQ lengthwise in a universal joint bracket mounted on said stage, and that said brush is oscillated over floating stage,

andiscaus'ed to bear toward the ships hulk by means of hauling lines which are recved through fairleadsheaves located on said stage laterally of andabove the low end of said sweep arm.

"2. Apparatus of floating ships, comprisinga floating stage, lateralscrew propellers on said stage disposed to force it toward said ship, fender beams adjustable on said stage and disposed to hold said stage off from said ship, a sweep rod of adjustable. length carriedin a universal joint bracket on said stage, a brush head mounted on one end of said sweep rod, flexible lines one from either side of said sweep rod near said brush head, said lines. earned over falr lead sheaves located laterally of and above their points of attachment, and means for alternately hauling on and paying out said lines thereby to cause brushes in said head to oscillate laterally over and to bear inwardly against the hull of the ship.

3. 1n apparatus as set forth in claim 1, means for alternately hauling and paying out the sweep "arm lines and adjusting the length of said lines conformably to the length adjustment of the sweep arm, consisting in a frame fitted with separately adjustable end barrels for winding up the slack of said lines, and cams acting alternately on said lines to pull on them alternately.

l. In apparatus as set forth in claim 1, fender beams disposed transversely of the floating stage above water level, a universal joint bracket on the gunwale of the stage midway of said fender beams, a depending sweep arm held adjustably for length in said bracket and disposed angularly outward from the stage, fair lead sheaves on the outer part of the fender beams, and hauling lines from a brush head fitting mounted on the lower end of said sweep arm.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, having two brush heads carried on separate sweep arms which are mounted in universal joint brackets one above the other, and independent hauling lines reeved through fair lead sheaves located laterally of and above brush heads on said sweep arms and thence to mechanism on the stage adapted for alter nately hauling on and paying out said lines.

for brushing the hull sides 7 e means'for applying the lateral swinging and G'JApparatus for brushing the hulls of I floating ships,characterized in that brushes "arejheld on a-sWeep arm having a laterally swinging and outwardly bearing movement about a universal joint bracket supported on floating stage andthat'said stageis pro vided with means for bearing-it toward a ships side and for fending it at a predetermined clearance distance therefrom.

7. In apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

outward bearing movement to the brush sweep arm,;and comprising members disposed angnlarly upwardly and laterally therefrom and adapted to alternately pull on the lower end of the arm.

' 8. In combination with a sweep arm disposed diagonally outwardly and downwardly from a floating stage, and means for swinging it laterally and hearing it outwardly, of a brush headtherefor comprising a plurality of brushes separatelymounted on self-adjusting hearings in said head, and a self-adjusting bearings, said yoke fixedto swinging it laterally and bearing it outwardly, of a brush head having a tongued scraper plate hingedly mounted'on one side of itand adapted for scraping a surface over;

which it is moved while it is moving in-one direction. 3 5

10. In combination with ship brushing ap paratus as set forth in claim 5 hereof, means for supplying paint to the upper brush of the pair, said means comprising a flexible paint supply pipe connected into the. brush-I40 back and perforations therefrom through the brush back adapted to deliver paint 7 there-: 1

from to the brush fibers or tufts.

V In timony whereof I have sig ed my e to this specification. 7

ARTHUR: FREDERICK BRDWNE. 

